Disqus - Latest Comments for redbecca

Re: http://squatchy.tumblr.com/post/481701588

redbecca — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:32:02 -0000

That is one majorly happy baby! And I love that hair! She is so adorable, you guys!

Re: http://squatchy.tumblr.com/post/451614046

redbecca — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:04:50 -0000

So cute! I love that sound!
Heads up that DADA will come before MAMA. Just get over the disappointment now. :)

Re: http://squatchy.tumblr.com/post/419350115

redbecca — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:16:57 -0000

Adorable pictures! I'm so glad she likes grown up food. Keep it coming!! Parenting Tip: The jingle lobster makes a great early warning device when they get up and moving later and you need to wall off various expensive electronics. Attach jingle lobster to said wall and you are all set.

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:58:30 -0000

Too cute! Yogurt is a baby's best friend when it comes to GI tract problems. I hope the guts come around soon!

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:42:16 -0000

Alas, some of us are still on the LID. I feel your pain in the bland department!

Yay for avocado! Adorable pictures, and GO Maggie! I'm allergic so we haven't tried Kiddo on it yet. Not that he'd eat it, of course....

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:18:31 -0000

How did we miss the conversation about New Zealand at the Coons? Love that place, would go back in a heartbeat! Great photos, too. How on earth do you find time to do all of this during your travels??

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:42:51 -0000

Aww, I can't wait to meet her! So cute. And Squatchy chiming in was hilarious!

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:02:56 -0000

watch your toes on those things. I ripped a toenail clean off on Monty's high chair. OUCH!

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:52:53 -0000

This should be obvious: A COW. You can call her Maggie Moo (MMM, ice cream).
Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah (says Emma's cow toy).

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:49:00 -0000

Wow! She is looking so much more like a baby and less like a newborn every day! Yeah, that sweet spot of STTN usually lasts only for a few weeks and then it is back to a middle night waking. You are lucky she does it only once! I hope you and Brad take turns.
Tummy time should help with that flat spot, too. Monty really enjoyed tummy time, and actually preferred sleeping on his side to his back, so we were fortunate to not have to deal with the flat spot.
Keep the videos and pictures coming. They are awesome!

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:39:56 -0000

I'd be glad to give Myriam the 411. Please give her my contact info. :)

Re: Maggie at 11 Weeks

redbecca — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:01:50 -0000

Great update! And happy to read she is gaining well and sleeping so nicely for you and Brad (and the Moose). In hindsight we wish we'd had a video monitor, too. Maybe for the eventual (hopefully) #2? Monty is doing some "fun" things in his crib right now we'd love to see on camera. RE: lump. Definitely get that checked out! The fact that it hasn't done anything negative is a good sign for now, but keep a close eye on it.
Can't wait for the next update on Maggie! We love hearing about the things she is doing.

Re: Maggie is 2 Months Old!

redbecca — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:09:13 -0000

Congrats! And congrats on her sleeping habits - they sound great to me already and you are very fortunate. "Healthy Sleep Habits Healthy Child" is one we used. We didn't use the CIO stuff for quite awhile because Monty would barf when he got very upset. Once we were able to eliminate the night bottles it got easier to let him CIO. He usually wakes up and whimpers for a few minutes every night, but 99% of the time puts himself back to sleep. His cry gets that particular pitch when he really needs us, so we've learned to mostly ignore the normal cries. The book has some good advice for the stages coming up over the next months. Do not be appalled when she has a sleep regression and it gets bad for a little while. They tend to do that when they are approaching big milestones or learning new skills, so you'll have good patches and bad ones, but eventually they figure it out. It took us until about 18 months, but we got there!
Oh, and the early bedtimes. It sucks for your social life, but you really need to suck it up for awhile and go with the earlier bedtimes. Her attitude and moods, your sleep and sanity will thank you for it in the long run, trust me. We went through a period where Monty wanted to be asleep by 6:30pm. He was never a good napper so the bulk of his sleep was at night. So what do you do? He was a wreck if he didn't go down that early. Joel would get home from work some nights just in time to kiss him goodnight and that was it. So we had friends visit us, ordered a lot of takeout and got cozy with Netflix for awhile. And had afternoon events with friends on weekends instead of evenings. Its only in the last few months (since he started STTN) that his bedtime has moved closer to 8pm (and his afternoon nap has gotten longer and more predictable) and now we can go out to dinner with friends again! And we can eat dinner together as a family (not that Monty eats what we do, yet, but that is another very long post). It sounds crazy to "humor" them and have to give up that social aspect of your own life, but when you think about it, sleep is brain food - that is when the brain does the most growing and connection-making. If you deprive her of the sleep routine and needs her body is asking for, you set her up for potential trouble down the road. Better to go with the flow for a couple of years and reap the benefits in the long run.
Wow, okay that got long. I'll shut up now. :) But in all seriousness, it sounds to me like everything is working smoothly as it should. And babies want mommy because they are hardwired to do so! Just be sure Brad gets as many opportunities to soothe her as possible and don't step in until he asks you to. Eventually the two of them will figure out their own routine and she'll come to prefer him sometimes over you.

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:54:41 -0000

GOOOOAAAAAAAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:27:44 -0000

Look at those long artist's fingers! Beautiful.

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:48:44 -0000

What a great shot! Enjoy the time and catch up on some sleep, too! Take every advantage of doting grandparents - we do! :)

Re: Sunday Evening Post

redbecca — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:49:36 -0000

It WILL get better! :)
Your lactation consultant sounds AWESOME. I'm glad you've got someone so supportive and knowledgeable on your side.
A nurse at the hospital said to us something that I've carried with me every day since Monty was born: First babies usually survive in spite of their parents.
You, Brad, Maggie and the moose will survive - maybe with a few scars mental, physical and emotional - but you will survive!

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:52:07 -0000

Holy Flaming Thermometer, Brad-man! That is hot. Awesome shot of Squatchy, too.

Re: Happy Two Weeks, Maggie!

redbecca — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:16:31 -0000

Ahh, pumping 8 times and trying to BF times?! You are superwoman! Monty refused the breast so I had 6-7 pumping sessions a day, and each lasted over an hour in the beginning. Over time I got them shorter and shorter. By the time I went back to work they were about 20 minutes each. I pumped in placement of baby stimulation at the breast, so I had to pump longer. Someone told me a good way to stimulate with baby is have an all afternoon BF session. Just keep her with you for several hours and offer the breast every chance you get. The two of you can doze together. But having her that close to the breast will help stimulate. I got some other helpful advice from pumpers on the TCOYF.com message boards and La Leche League. I'm sure you are getting advice right and left. I know you'll find what works for you, and don't feel bad if BF exclusively doesn't work out. Hard to have that perspective from where you are now with sleep deprivation and hormones and body healing though, I know. I'm so glad you have friends and family to support you guys. It really does take a village, doesn't it? :)

Re: Avoiding the Baby Blues

redbecca — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:21:21 -0000

I hope the oatmeal helps (fingers crossed). Should help you with other things too (Go Team Fiber!). Remember the water, too. Drink till you get sick of it! You are doing an amazing wonderful job, Annie, and I give you and Brad huge thumbs up for continuing to post and take pictures. We could barely find our beds in those first days, much less take pictures!

Re: The Maggie Chronicles

redbecca — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:13:35 -0000

Newborn blue. It is very dark almost a gray color. They will change as she gets older. Monty's lightened up and of course stayed blue (thank heavens or else he really would be a Joel clone), but suspect Maggie's will change to something else. I forget when it happens, but I think within 3 months you could see Monty's already starting to change. Lovely photos, great little video! Full + sleepy + warm = content baby.

Re: Mama's Post - Some Thoughts from Day Two, Delivery, and the Postpartum Life

redbecca — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:33:49 -0000

Annie - what a great post! I am so totally with you on the hormone thing. You keep wondering what is wrong with you but the combo of lack of sleep and the hormones going bonkers is a double whammy on the emotions roller coaster. It will get better in the next few days, promise! (and if it doesn't make SURE you tell your doctor!)
Pumping...ah, as you well know, I share your exhaustion on that one. As sucky as it is, I ended up doing a pumping session late at night - like 2am until I was able to get my production up. Once I had that session established I started moving it back a bit to a more tolerable time like midnight.
My secret weapon for milk production was oatmeal and water. Drink water until you are sick of it. And oatmeal in everything you can think of. cookies, cereal, anything. It took me about two weeks nonstop pumping about 7x a day to get ahead of Monty's appetite. that sounds daunting and it was very exhausting, but I was so very proud of myself to get to that point. Of course, this was the anti-nursing baby so hopefully Maggie has more smarts than that and will continue to suckle as she get stronger!
The first few weeks are the toughest, but it sounds like you have an awesome support team out there who will help see you through. I think this is what they mean by it taking a village to raise a child. I know my dishes never would have been done otherwise! :)
Sending sleepy vibes your way - Love Redbecca
P.S. That Squatchy story is adorable. And you have a blog to help you remember it all when your brain turns to mush. Bonus!